Queer Cafe

Lesbian Couple Says School Denied Son Admission Due to Their Sexuality

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

Over the past decade, the nation has made unprecedented progress toward LGBTQ equality. But to date, neither the federal government nor most states have explicit statutory nondiscrimination laws protecting people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQ people still face widespread discrimination: Between 11 percent and 28 percent of LGB workers report losing a promotion simply because of their sexual orientation, and 27 percent of transgender workers report being fired, not hired, or denied a promotion in the past year. Discrimination also routinely affects LGBTQ people beyond the workplace, sometimes costing them their homes, access to education, and even the ability to engage in public life.

Data from a nationally representative survey of LGBTQ people conducted by CAP shows that 25.2 percent of LGBTQ respondents has experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in the past year. The January 2017 survey shows that, despite progress, in 2016 discrimination remained a widespread threat to LGBTQ people’s well-being, health, and economic security.

Among people who experienced sexual orientation- or gender-identity-based discrimination in the past year:

--68.5 percent reported that discrimination at least somewhat negatively affected their psychological well-being.
--43.7 percent reported that discrimination negatively impacted their physical well-being.
--47.7 percent reported that discrimination negatively impacted their spiritual well-being.
--38.5 percent reported discrimination negatively impacted their school environment.
--52.8 percent reported that discrimination negatively impacted their work environment.
--56.6 report it negatively impacted their neighborhood and community environment.

Human Rights Watch: Anti-LGBTQ Laws Around the World

USA Today: LGBTQ Tolerance Survey by GLAAD

NPR: Discrimination Compounds for LGBTQ People of Color

John Oliver: LGBTQ Discrimination

Lack of Trust in Law Enforcement Hinders Reporting of LGBTQ Crimes

Countries Where Homosexuality is Punishable by Death

Trans Miss Netherlands Winner Laments Negative Online Reaction

Unseen Harms

LGBTQ people who don’t experience overt discrimination, such as being fired from a job, may still find that the threat of it shapes their lives in subtle but profound ways. David, a gay man, works at a Fortune 500 company with a formal, written nondiscrimination policy. “I couldn’t be fired for being gay,” he said. But David went on to explain, “When partners at the firm invite straight men to squash or drinks, they don’t invite the women or gay men. I’m being passed over for opportunities that could lead to being promoted.”

“I’m trying to minimize the bias against me by changing my presentation in the corporate world,” he added. “I lower my voice in meetings to make it sound less feminine and avoid wearing anything but a black suit. … When you’re perceived as feminine (whether you’re a woman or a gay man) you get excluded from relationships that improve your career.”

David is not alone. Survey findings and related interviews show that LGBTQ people hide personal relationships, delay health care, change the way they dress, and take other steps to alter their lives because they could be discriminated against.

Maria, a queer woman who lives in North Carolina, described a long commute from her home in Durham to a different town where she works. She makes the drive every day so that she can live in a city that’s friendly to LGBTQ people. She loves her job, but she’s not out to her boss. “I wonder whether I would be let go if the higher-ups knew about my sexuality,” she says.

CAP’s research shows that stories such as Maria’s and David’s are common. The below table shows the percentage of LGBTQ people who report changing their lives in a variety of ways in order to avoid discrimination.

Federal Court Rules Mississippi Businesses Can Discriminate Against LGBTQ People

HRC Statistics: Growing Up LGBTQ in America

United Nations Fight Against LGBTQ Oppression

How to Win LGBTQ Equality in the South

LGBTQ Discrimination in Tennessee

Religious Liberty and Discriminating Against Gay Homebuyers

Unique Vulnerabilities in the Workplace

Within the LGBTQ community, people who were vulnerable to discrimination across multiple identities reported uniquely high rates of avoidance behaviors.

In particular, LGBTQ people of color were more likely to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity from employers, with 12 percent removing items from their resumes (in comparison to 8 percent of white LGBTQ respondents) in the past year. Similarly, 18.7 percent of 18- to 24-year-old LGBTQ respondents reported removing items from their resumes (in comparison to 7.9 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds). Meanwhile, 15.5 percent of disabled LGBTQ respondents reported removing items from their resume (in comparison to 7.3 percent of nondisabled LGBTQ people). This finding may reflect higher rates of unemployment among people of color, disabled people, and young adults; it may also reflect that LGBTQ people who could also face discrimination on the basis of their race, youth, and disability feel uniquely vulnerable to being denied a job due to discrimination, or a combination of factors.

Unique Vulnerabilities in the Public Square

Discrimination, harassment, and violence against LGBTQ people (especially transgender people) has always been common in places of public accommodation, such as hotels, restaurants, or government offices. The 2015 United States Transgender Survey found that, among transgender people who visited a place of public accommodation where staff knew or believed they were transgender, nearly one in three experienced discrimination or harassment—including being denied equal services or even being physically attacked.

Map of State Religious Exemptions Laws

Handy Guide to Understanding Religious Exemption Laws

LGBTQ Discrimination: Psychological Impact

Preschool Twins Fighting Discrimination

What Left-Handed People Can Teach the LGBTQ Community

CNN: What You Need to Know About the Gay Rights Movement

Center for American Progress: Widespread LGBTQ Discrimination

In March 2016, then Gov. Pat McCrory signed North Carolina H.B. 2 into law, which mandated anti-transgender discrimination in single-sex facilities—and began an unprecedented attack on transgender people’s access to public accommodations and ability to participate in public life. That year, more than 30 bills specifically targeting transgender people’s access to public accommodations were introduced in state legislatures across the country. This survey asked transgender respondents whether they had avoided places of public accommodation from January 2016 through January 2017, during a nationwide attack on transgender people’s rights. Among transgender survey respondents:

--25.7 percent reported avoiding public places such as stores and restaurants, versus 9.9 percent of cisgender LGB respondents
--10.9 percent reported avoiding public transportation, versus 4.1 percent of cisgender LGB respondents
--11.9 percent avoided getting services they or their family needed, versus 4.4 percent of cisgender LGB respondents
--26.7 percent made specific decisions about where to shop, versus 6.6 percent of cisgender LGB respondents

These findings suggest that ongoing discrimination in public accommodations pushes transgender people out of public life, making it harder for them to access key services, use public transportation, or simply go to stores or restaurants without fear of discrimination.

[Source: Sejal Singh and Laura E. Durso, Center for American Progress, May 2017]

United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Racial Beginners

CNN: What You Need to Know About the Gay Rights Movement

Gay, Straight, Black, White: Love is Love, Right is Right

Wikipedia: LGBTQ Employment Discrimination

LGBTQ Rights: I Wish

LGBTQ People Receive More Scrutiny, Negativity From Police

According to a recent study, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are more likely to be stopped by police than the general population.

Queer people are six times as likely than the general population to be stopped by police, according to a new study, which provides evidence to back up the long-held belief that the community is over-policed.

Researchers at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, looked at data from the Generations Study — a long-term study of three generations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people — and the Police Public Contact Survey. The data did not include transgender people, but the Williams Institute noted that trans folks, especially women of color, often have negative experiences with police.

LGBTQ Rights: I Wish

Wikipedia: LGBTQ Employment Discrimination

CNN: LGBTQ Employees Protected Against Discrimination

LGBTQ Community and Police Brutality

United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Philadelphia: The Essence of Discrimination

Lesbian Couple Says School Denied Son Admission Due to Their Sexuality

Six percent of LGBTQ people reported having been stopped by police in a public space versus 1 percent of the general population, the Williams Institute reports. Nearly seven times as many LGBTQ people were stopped by the police for reasons other than those involving a vehicle, and about twice as many LGBTQ people reported seeking police help compared to the general population.

LGBTQ people also reported more frequent police stops in vehicle-related matters, whether as a driver or passenger, and in traffic accidents. “The findings were similar across sex and race,” according to the study.

“The much higher rates of LGBTQ adults reporting being approached by the police is consistent with the idea that LGBTQ people are over-policed and raises the issue of bias-based profiling of queer communities in general,” the Williams Institute notes.

The institute found that most people, both LGBTQ and in the general populace, were satisfied with police response. “But compared with the general population, fewer LGBTQ adults agreed that police behaved properly during their contact,” 81 percent versus 91 percent, the report says. In particular, fewer women in the LGBTQ group called their interactions with police satisfactory. And 22 percent of LGBTQ people said they were unlikely to contact police again, while only 6 percent of the general population did.

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

How Discrimination Affects the LGBTQ Population

Legalizing Religious Based Discrimination

CNN: LGBTQ Employees Protected Against Discrimination

NBC News: LGBTQ Job Discrimination Prohibited
Countries Where Homosexuality is Punishable by Death

Huff Post: LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination

The lower rate of satisfaction “may reflect lower levels of trust” in the police by LGBTQ people, because of the perception that members of this community are targeted as suspects or that crimes against this community are not taken seriously, the report observes.

“Although data about transgender people were not available in the datasets analyzed for this brief, research indicates that transgender people, particularly women of color, are at heightened risk of negative police interactions, including harassment and assault,” the Williams Institute concludes. “As police reform is being discussed nationally, it is important that reforms include attention to policing of LGBTQ populations across race and gender.”

[Source: Trudy Ring, Advocate Magazine, May 2021]

LGBTQ People Receive More Scrutiny, Negativity From Police

Trans Miss Netherlands Winner Laments Negative Online Reaction

LGBTQ Community and Police Brutality

Lack of Trust in Law Enforcement Hinders Reporting of LGBTQ Crimes

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

Black LGBTQ HIV+ Americans Still Face Constant Discrimination

Center for American Progress: Widespread LGBTQ Discrimination

Black and LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a term coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1980s to describe the way that multiple systems of oppression interact in the lives of those with multiple marginalized identities. Intersectionality looks at the relationships between multiple marginalized identities and allows us to analyze social problems more fully, shape more effective interventions, and promote more inclusive advocacy among communities.

Intersectionality describes overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination. Intersectionality is the idea that multiple identities intersect to create a whole that is different from the component identities. These identities that can intersect include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, and physical illness as well as other forms of identity. These aspects of identity are not "unitary, mutually exclusive entities, but rather reciprocally constructing phenomena." The theory proposes that individuals think of each element or trait of a person as inextricably linked with all of the other elements in order to fully understand one's identity.

This framework, it is argued, can be used to understand how systemic injustice and social inequality occur on a multidimensional basis. Intersectionality holds that the classical conceptualizations of oppression within society (racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, belief-based bigotry) do not act independently of each other. Instead, these forms of oppression interrelate, creating a system of oppression that reflects the "intersection" of multiple forms of discrimination.

Queer 101: What is Intersectionality?

Lady Gaga: Till it Happens to You

Washington Post: Intersectionality Primer

Black and LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

Intersectionality: Youth Panel Discusses Race, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Wikipedia: Intersectionality

Washington Post: Why Intersectionality Can’t Wait

Racial Beginners

Respectability Politics: Can You Be Too Gay?

Intersectionality: LGBTQ Pride Meets BLM

The intersectionality of race and and sexual identity in the current struggle for justice and equality reminds us that no person can be defined simply by their skin color or their ethnicity or their sexual orientation or their gender identity. The overlap of experiences invites us to recognize how much we all have in common. It's not just about black people and LGBTQ people fighting their separate battles, or even about the two communities coming together. It's about black gay men, black lesbians, black bisexuals, black transgender people, and queer people of color fighting a battle that converges within their own soul.

There is an identification of a shared struggle between the African-American and LGBTQ communities. The recent rash of killings of black people parallels the recent rash of killings of transgender people. The injustice experienced by the black community mirrors the injustice experienced by the LGBTQ community. Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the BLM movement, is a queer woman of color who understands discrimination as a black person and as a queer person. It was Alicia who coined the "Black Lives Matter" slogan. There is a real sense of solidarity between the LGBTQ Pride movement and the Black Lives Matter movement.

When the Covid-19 pandemic began, most LGBTQ celebrations were canceled. But with protests across the world drawing attention to police brutality and the systemic racism facing the black community, many of the organizations behind Pride festivals are re-engaging their plans and pivoting to join the protest movement.

Intersectionality: Insights From a Queer Man of Color

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

What Does it Mean to Be Queer and Black in America Today?

HRC Report: Black LGBTQ People and Compounding Discrimination

Merging of Two Movements: LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matter

Violent Crimes Against Trans People and Black People

Thousands Gather for BLM and LGBTQ Pride March

LGBTQ Pride Festivals Become Black Lives Matter Protests

"Black people! I love you! I love us! Our lives matter! Black lives matter!"

-Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Movement, Creator of BLM Slogan

"We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements. We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise. We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression. The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation."

-Black Lives Matter

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives."

-Audre Lorde

"Would you ask me how I’d dare to compare the civil rights struggle with the struggle for lesbian and gay rights? I can compare them, and I do compare them. I know what it means to be called a nigger. I know what it means to be called a faggot. And I can sum up the difference in one word: None."

-Melvin Boozer

Protest Led by LGBTQ Support for Black Lives Matter

Solidarity: Los Angeles Pride Supports Black Lives Matter

When Black Lives Matter Meets LGBTQ Pride

LA Pride Revived as Black Lives Matter Solidarity March

Putting Intersectionality Into Practice

LGBTQ Organizations Stand in Solidarity With Black Lives Matter

Black and LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter

Understanding and Combating LGBTQ Discrimination

Efforts to create a more inclusive and accepting society...

Discrimination against the LGBTQ community remains a pervasive issue worldwide, posing significant challenges to the well-being and equality of individuals. Despite considerable progress in recent years, there is still much work to be done to eliminate prejudice, bias, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Legal Discrimination: Many countries still have laws that discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, criminalizing same-sex relationships or denying them the same rights and protections as heterosexual individuals. These legal barriers perpetuate societal biases and contribute to the marginalization of the LGBTQ community.

Social Stigma: LGBTQ individuals often face social stigma and prejudice, leading to isolation and exclusion from their communities. Stereotypes and misconceptions contribute to a hostile environment where individuals may feel compelled to hide their true selves to avoid discrimination.

Employment Discrimination: LGBTQ individuals frequently encounter discrimination in the workplace, ranging from biased hiring practices to unequal pay and lack of job security. Discrimination at work not only affects the financial stability of individuals but also takes a toll on their mental health and overall well-being.

Violence and Harassment: Hate crimes against LGBTQ individuals, including physical violence and harassment, persist globally. Transgender individuals, in particular, face a disproportionately high risk of violence. Bullying in schools and online harassment further exacerbate the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth.

TED Talk: The Urgency of Intersectionality

HRC Report: Black LGBTQ People and Compounding Discrimination

Privilege Walk: What is Privilege

NPR: Discrimination Compounds for LGBTQ People of Color

50 Years a Scapegoat: LGBTQ Community Once Again in GOP Crosshairs

Discrimination of Men with Gay Voices

USA Today: Review of LGBTQ Equality Over the Past Decade

Consequences of LGBTQ Discrimination...

Mental Health Impacts: Discrimination contributes to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide among LGBTQ individuals. The constant fear of rejection and harassment takes a toll on mental well-being, underscoring the importance of creating safe and supportive environments.

Economic Disparities: Employment discrimination and unequal opportunities can result in economic disparities within the LGBTQ community. This, in turn, affects access to healthcare, housing, and education, perpetuating a cycle of inequality.

Barriers to Education: LGBTQ students often face discrimination in educational institutions, leading to higher dropout rates and limited access to academic and career opportunities. Inclusive education policies and awareness campaigns are crucial to addressing this issue.

Gay, Straight, Black, White: Love is Love, Right is Right

Sam Cooke: A Change is Gonna Come

Center for American Progress: Widespread LGBTQ Discrimination

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

Black and LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

Wikipedia: LGBTQ Employment Discrimination

Combating LGBTQ Discrimination...

Legal Reforms: Advocacy for the repeal of discriminatory laws and the implementation of comprehensive legal protections is essential. The fight for equal rights on a legislative level is an ongoing process that requires sustained effort and collaboration.

Promoting Inclusive Education: Schools and educational institutions play a crucial role in fostering inclusivity. Implementing anti-discrimination policies, inclusive curricula, and support systems can create a more welcoming environment for LGBTQ students.

Raising Awareness: Public awareness campaigns are instrumental in challenging stereotypes, debunking myths, and fostering understanding. Media, community organizations, and influencers can contribute to changing societal attitudes by promoting acceptance and respect.

LGBTQ discrimination remains a significant societal challenge, impacting individuals in various aspects of their lives. Efforts to combat discrimination must be multifaceted, involving legal reforms, educational initiatives, and awareness campaigns. By fostering inclusivity and understanding, society can move towards a future where everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can live free from discrimination and prejudice.

CNN: LGBTQ Employees Protected Against Discrimination

How Discrimination Affects the LGBTQ Population

Lesbian Couple Says School Denied Son Admission Due to Their Sexuality

LGBTQ Rights: I Wish

Trans Miss Netherlands Winner Laments Negative Online Reaction

NBC News: LGBTQ Job Discrimination Prohibited
Huff Post: LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination

Chick-Fil-A: Symbol of LGBTQ Discrimination

Chick-fil-A is arguably best known for three things: its juicy chicken sandwiches, its employees’ perpetually chipper attitudes, and its long history of donating to charities with anti-LGBTQ stances. However, the fast-food chain says it is changing its charitable giving approach in 2020. And it says, in an oblique way, that it will no longer donate to such organizations.

The Chick-fil-A Foundation will instead take “a more focused giving approach,” Chick-fil-A announced in a press release in November 2019. The foundation has set aside $9 million for 2020 that will be split between three initiatives: promoting youth education, combating youth homelessness, and fighting hunger. Those funds will be distributed to Junior Achievement USA, Covenant House International, and local food banks in cities where the chain opens new locations. Chick-fil-A’s president and CEO Tim Tassopoulos made it clear that the company’s new donation strategy is at least partly related to the constant backlash Chick-fil-A has faced over its donations. Notably, Chick-fil-A never explicitly said it would permanently stop donating to anti-gay groups or organizations that discriminate against LGBTQ people. It just said it was changing its philanthropic giving model.

LGBTQ Nation: Chick-Fil-A Not Quite LGBTQ Friendly

Chick-Fil-A: Controversy, Boycotts, Bad Press

Huff Post: Chick-Fil-A's Long Time Support of Anti-LGBTQ Organizations

NBC News: Cautious Optimism Regarding Changes at Chick-Fil-A

Forbes: Chick-Fil-A Grilled From Both Sides

LGBTQ Discrimination: Chick-Fil-A and More

Background Info: Chick-Fil-A and LGBTQ Discrimination

Chick-Fil-A's Airport Controversy

Back in June 2012, following a series of public comments opposing same-sex marriage by Dan T. Cathy, Chick-fil-A's chief operating officer, related issues have arisen between the international fast food restaurant and the LGBTQ community. This followed reports that Chick-fil-A's charitable endeavor, the S. Truett Cathy-operated WinShape Foundation, had donated millions of dollars to organizations seen by LGBTQ activists as hostile to LGBTQ rights. Activists called for protests and boycotts, while supporters of the restaurant chain, and opponents of same-sex marriage ate there in support of the restaurant. National political figures both for and against the actions spoke out and some business partners severed ties with the chain.

The outcome of the initial controversy was mixed, as Chick-fil-A's sales rose twelve percent, to $4.6 billion, in the period immediately following the controversy. This was largely attributed to former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee's counter-boycott launched in support of the restaurant. However, the company's public image and standing with the LGBTQ community was damaged, with the chain facing criticism and condemnation from politicians and gay rights activists, as well as efforts by activists and political officials to ban the restaurant from college campuses, airports and elsewhere.

The WinShape Foundation, a charitable endeavor of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy and his family, stated that it would not allow same-sex couples to participate in its marriage retreats. Chick-fil-A gave over $8 million to the WinShape Foundation in 2010. Equality Matters, an LGBTQ watchdog group, published reports of donations by WinShape to organizations that the watchdog group considers anti-gay, including $2 million in 2009, $1.9 million in 2010 and a total of $5 million since 2003, including grants to the Family Research Council and Georgia Family Council. WinShape contributed grants to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Exodus International, an organization noted for supporting ex-gay conversion therapy. The Marriage and Family Foundation received $994,199 in 2009 and $1,188,380 in 2010. The Family Research Council, an organization listed as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in Winter 2010, received $1000.

USA Today: Review of LGBTQ Equality Over the Past Decade

How Discrimination Affects the LGBTQ Population

HRC Report: Black LGBTQ People and Compounding Discrimination

In June 2012, while on the syndicated radio talk show, The Ken Coleman Show, Chick-fil-A president and chief operating officer (COO) Dan Cathy stated: "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."

In July 2012, Biblical Recorder published an interview with Dan Cathy, who was asked about opposition to his company's "support of the traditional family." He replied: "Guilty as charged." Cathy continued: "We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that. We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

The day after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, Cathy tweeted, "Sad day for our nation. the founding fathers would be ashamed of our generation for o abandoning the wisdom of the ages and the cornerstone of strong societies."

NPR: Discrimination Compounds for LGBTQ People of Color

Countries Where Homosexuality is Punishable by Death

Center for American Progress: Widespread LGBTQ Discrimination

Profile of LGBTQ Life in America

--42% of people who are LGBTQ report living in an unwelcoming environment.
--80% of gay and lesbian youth report severe social isolation.
--6 in 10 LGBTQ students report feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation.
--90% of teens who are LGBTQ come out to their close friends.
--As of 2013, 92% of adults who are LGBTQ said they believe society had become more accepting of them than in the past 10 years.
--Young people who are LGBTQ and who are “out” to their immediate families report feeling happier than those who aren’t.
--While non-LGBTQ students struggle most with school classes, exams, and work, their LGBTQ peers say the biggest problem they face is unaccepting families.
--As of 2015, same-sex marriage is legal in the US.
--The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, which restricted lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in the military from openly serving, was lifted in 2011. People who are transgender are not permitted to serve openly yet.
--In July 2009, the Senate approved the Matthew Shepard Act, which outlaws hate crimes based on both sexual orientation and gender identity.
--The Employment Nondiscrimination Act, passed Congress in 2007, is the act that prohibits discrimination of sexual orientation in the workplace, specifically during hiring.

USA Today: Review of LGBTQ Equality Over the Past Decade

Gay, Straight, Black, White: Love is Love, Right is Right

Human Rights Watch: Anti-LGBTQ Laws Around the World

USA Today: LGBTQ Tolerance Survey by GLAAD

CNN: LGBTQ Employees Protected Against Discrimination

NBC News: LGBTQ Job Discrimination Prohibited
Huff Post: LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination

Standing Up for Equality

"People fail to get along with each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other. They don’t know each other because they have not properly communicated with each other."
-Martin Luther King Jr

"The humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others."
-Julian Bond, NAACP Board Chairman

"The people who would forbid gays from marrying in the country are those who would have made Rosa Parks sit in the back of the bus."
-Jason West, Mayor of New Paltz, NY

"I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy. The civil rights movement thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion. My husband's struggle parallels that of the gay rights movement."
-Coretta Scott King

"Courage comes when an interracial couple connects to a gay couple who has been discriminated against, and understands it as their own."
-President Barack Obama

Solidarity: Los Angeles Pride Supports Black Lives Matter

When Black Lives Matter Meets LGBTQ Pride

LA Pride Revived as Black Lives Matter Solidarity March

Putting Intersectionality Into Practice

LGBTQ Organizations Stand in Solidarity With Black Lives Matter

Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter

Racial Beginners

"Discrimination is discrimination no matter who the victim is, and it is always wrong. There are no special rights in America, despite the attempts by many to divide blacks and the gay community with the argument that the latter are seeking some imaginary special rights at the expense of blacks."
-Julian Bond, NAACP Board Chairman

"At the end of the day it doesn’t matter which group is most oppressed or whether they are identically oppressed, what matters is that no group be oppressed."
-Keith Boykin, President of National Black Justice Coalition

"All of us who are openly gay are living and writing the history of our movement. We are no more - and no less - heroic than the suffragists and abolitionists of the 19th century; and the labor organizers, Freedom Riders, Stonewall demonstrators, and environmentalists of the 20th century."
-Senator Tammy Baldwin

“When all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.”
-President Barack Obama

Intersectionality: Insights From a Queer Man of Color

What Does it Mean to Be Queer and Black in America Today?

Merging of Two Movements: LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matter

Violent Crimes Against Trans People and Black People

Thousands Gather for BLM and LGBTQ Pride March

LGBTQ Pride Festivals Become Black Lives Matter Protests

Protest Led by LGBTQ Support for Black Lives Matter

Roots and Causes of Homophobia

Defining Homophobia and Heterosexism

Homophobia is the fear, hatred, disgust, mistreatment, or intolerance of same-sex intimacy, relationships, atypical gender behavior, and/or people who identify as or are perceived as LGBTQ.

Heterosexism is the belief in the inherent superiority of heterosexuality and, thereby, it’s right to dominance. Carries with it the assumption that everyone one meets is heterosexual.

Homophobia refers to the many ways in which people are oppressed on the basis of sexual orientation. Sometimes homophobia is intentional, where there is a clear intent to hurt lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. Homophobia can also be unintentional, where there is no desire to hurt anyone, but where people are unaware of the consequences of their actions.

Homophobia: Origins and Cures

An Illustration of Privilege

HRC Report: Black LGBTQ People and Compounding Discrimination

Info: Black Lives Matter

Wikipedia: Heterosexism

How Privileged Are You?

Info: Straight/Heterosexual

Cisnormativity

Cisnormativity is the assumption that all, or almost all, individuals are cisgender. Although transgender-identified people comprise a fairly small percentage of the human population, many trans people and allies consider it to be offensive to presume that everyone is cisgender unless otherwise specified.

Examples of cisnormativity are closely linked to gender essentialism and may include statements like, "Men can not get pregnant." Although cisnormativity is rarely deliberate, it is almost always perceived as hurtful and offensive to the trans community. At best, cisnormativity contributes to the erasure of trans and nonbinary experiences. At worst, it is part of a deliberate and calculated system of oppression that includes institutionalized cissexism and transphobia.

Cisnormative is a term related to heteronormativity, heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, gender essentialism, cissexism, and other forms of oppression based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Info: Cisnormativity

Wikipedia: Cisgender

Cisnormativity is Rampant

Info: Transgender

Hetero/Cis Normativity in Our Society

Info: Homophobia/Heterosexism

Heteronormativity/Cisnormativity

Info: Gender Non-Conforming

Oppressing Sexual Minorities

The term "sexual minority" is an expression that refers to persons who aspire to any lifestyle or orientation that doesn’t comply with the mainstream heterosexual concept of normal behavior.

Heterosexism is the assumption that only heterosexual relationships are normal and should therefore be privileged. Heterosexism is based on societal values that dictate that everyone is, or should be, heterosexual.

Intentionally or unintentionally, our society privileges heterosexuality and heterosexual persons, and devalues, mistreats, or discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons and those perceived to be so.

Heterosexual privilege bestows unearned and unchallenged advantages and rewards on heterosexuals solely as a result of their sexual orientation. These benefits are not automatically granted to LGBTQ persons.

Definitions: Homophobia, Heterosexism, Sexual Prejudice

United Nations Fight Against LGBTQ Oppression

Video: Therapy Session for Homophobic People

This is What Homophobia Feels Like

CNN: What You Need to Know About the Gay Rights Movement

Roots and Causes of Homophobia

Sexual Prejudice

Scientific analysis of the psychology of antigay attitudes will be facilitated by a new term. Sexual prejudice serves this purpose nicely. Broadly conceived, sexual prejudice refers to all negative attitudes based on sexual orientation, whether the target is homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Given the current social organization of sexuality, however, such prejudice is almost always directed at people who engage in homosexual behavior or label themselves gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

Like other types of prejudice, sexual prejudice has three principal features:

--It is an attitude (an evaluation or judgment).
--It is directed at a social group and its members.
--It is negative, involving hostility or dislike.

Conceptualizing heterosexuals' negative attitudes toward homosexuality and bisexuality as sexual prejudice (rather than homophobia) has several advantages.

First, sexual prejudice is a descriptive term. Unlike homophobia, it conveys no a priori assumptions about the origins, dynamics, and underlying motivations of antigay attitudes.

Second, the term explicitly links the study of antigay hostility with the rich tradition of social psychological research on prejudice.

Third, using the construct of sexual prejudice does not require value judgments that antigay attitudes are inherently irrational or evil.

[Source: Herek, G. M., 2000]

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Social scientists attempting to explain why people hold negative feelings toward homosexual persons have tended to offer either theoretical speculations or empirical data, with little synthesis of the two.

The theoretical accounts often have revealed more about the writer's personal prejudices toward homosexuality than society's reaction to it. For example, William James (1890) assumed that being repulsed by the idea of intimate contact with a member of the same sex is instinctive, and exists more strongly in men than in women. Interestingly, in cultures where such forms of ''unnatural vice" as homosexuality are found, James supposed that the instinctual aversion had been overcome by habit. In other words, he assumed that tolerance is learned and revulsion is inborn. rather than vice-versa. This is particularly surprising in view of his hypothesis that a ''germinal possibility'' for same-sex attraction exists in ''most men."

Edward Westermarck (1908) went beyond instinct-based explanations in his cross-cultural study of morality. He was willing to assert that societal censure of homosexual practices is due to "the feeling of aversion or disgust which the idea of homosexual intercourse tends to call forth in normally constituted adult individuals whose sexual instincts have developed under normal conditions." But he thought this explanation was inadequate in accounting for the particularly violent reaction against homosexuality displayed by some religious groups. Their strong hostility exists, he said, because homosexual practices were associated historically with idolatry and heresy, and so were condemned by way of laws and customs.

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The bulk of studies have sought to uncover the correlates of negative attitudes. In general, some consistent patterns have been observed across different samples. When compared to those with more favorable attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, these studies have found that persons with negative attitudes:

--are less likely to have had personal contact with lesbians or gay men
--are less likely to report having engaged in homosexual behaviors, or to identify themselves as lesbian or gay
--are more likely to perceive their peers as manifesting negative attitudes, especially if the respondents are males
--are more likely to have resided in areas where negative attitudes are the norm (midwestern and southern United States, Canadian prairies, rural areas, small towns), especially during adolescence
--are likely to be older and less well educated
--are more likely to be religious, to attend church frequently, and to subscribe to a conservative religious ideology
--are more likely to express traditional, restrictive attitudes about sex roles
--are less permissive sexually or manifest more guilt or negativity about sexuality

--are more likely to manifest high levels of authoritarianism and related personality characteristics

[Source: Gregory M. Herek, Professor of Psychology, University of California at Davis, Co-Editor of Hate Crimes: Confronting Violence Against Lesbians & Gay Men (1992), Editor of Stigma & Sexual Orientation (1998)]

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